1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to systems for loading and transporting vehicles, such as passenger automobiles, aboard a railroad car.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It has been recognized for a long time that a major obstacle to the use of public intercity transportation is the lack of destination mobility in a personal automobile. After a trip by plane, train, or bus, a traveler must rent an automobile or use public transit. Renting an automobile is costly and time-consuming and a rented vehicle is usually unfamiliar to the driver. Public transit systems offer minimal service in most communities.
A rail system that permitted passengers to take a personal automobile with them could solve the problem of destination mobility. For such a system to be feasible, passengers would have to be able to load and unload their automobile in minimal time. Also, the system would have to be simple to use and cost-effective.
The most common type of railroad car for transporting automobiles is the enclosed tri-level rack car used for moving new vehicles from assembly plants to major distribution centers. Tri-level racks are loaded sequentially using an inclined ramp. Automobiles are driven by terminal employees up the ramp and through a series of coupled cars until the first level of all the cars has been filled. Then the process is repeated for the second and third levels.
This system for moving automobiles by rail is far from optimum. The loading process is costly and slow and there is frequently damage to the vehicles from having to negotiate the inclined ramp and the narrow interior of the railroad cars. Also, despite repeated attempts to secure vehicles in transit from thieves and vandals, there is still much loss and damage.
The contemporary system for moving new automobiles could be improved by designing a system that would minimize labor costs and loading damage. Such a system would enclose the vehicles in a safe environment, free from unauthorized persons. If a new system could offer fast loading and unloading, it could be used for passenger service.
A number of systems have been designed over the years for improving automobile transport by train. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,146,203 (Demarest) shows a method of loading automobiles from the side. Each automobile is driven into the freight car and onto a turntable, which then rotates to align the automobile inside the freight car. The automobile may then be raised to an upper position, so that a second automobile may be loaded below the first.
Over the years since 1939, a number of attempts have been made to improve upon the Demarest design. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,695,568 (Keith) shows a method of loading automobiles onto a railroad car using ramps on the side of the car. An automobile is driven up a ramp to a position beside an empty compartment within the railroad car. A rack, upon which the automobile is supported, is then rolled sideways upon a plurality of balls in a plurality of grooves.
In spite of the improvements made over the years, the available loading systems are complex, slow, and costly. There remains a need for a fast and efficient system for loading automobiles aboard railroad cars. Such a system would reduce the cost of transporting new automobiles from assembly plants to distribution centers. It also would facilitate the development of passenger rail service offering automobile transport to travelers desiring destination mobility in a personal automobile.